Lim took Ahmad Said to task over the latter's recent statements denying that political pressure or negative public perception sparked by the controversial death of Teoh had caused the MACC chief to opt for an early retirement.

Ahmad Said was quoted by The Star as saying on Sunday: "Teoh Beng Hock’s case is nothing. It is a very small case. We have handled much bigger cases".

"How can the head of an independent and professional anti-corruption agency dismiss Teoh’s mysterious and shocking death as 'a very small case' and of no consequence?"

"How many lives must be lost in MACC precincts before they become major issues?" Lim said in a statement today.

Teoh's death had sparked intense public uproar after the 30-year-old was found dead on July 16 on a fifth-floor landing of the Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam, next to an office block that houses Selangor MACC.

The aide to Selangor state executive council member Ean Yong Hian Wah had been held overnight at the state MACC for questioning into anti-corruption investigations on allegations of misappropriation of funds by several Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen.

The Ipoh Timur member of parliament also slammed Ahmad Said's remarks as "heartless and grossly insensitive" but pointed out that the latest comments were exceeded only by Ahmad Said's earlier "distasteful" statements implying Teoh had taken his own life.

Shortly after Teoh's death, Ahmad Said was quoted as saying, "If people investigated could not withstand the pressure and jumped from the building, there was nothing that MACC could do".

Lim demanded Ahmad Said to explain Malaysia's declining ranking and scores in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2009 report and whether Teoh's "mysterious" death had contributed to a loss of confidence in MACC.

Lim also questioned whether MACC deputy commissioner Datuk Abu Kassim Mohamed, who is slated to take over as MACC chief on Jan 1, would dissociate himself from Ahmad Said's "outrageous" statements and attitude that "there is no difference between corruption involving a few ringgit and corruption involving a few hundred millions of ringgit".